I just got in from mowing the lawn for the first time since the f(l)ight of the bumblebee.
I’m happy to report that I am unscathed, although I did give a wide berth to the one bumblebee that I saw.
And had an adrenaline rush every time anything flew near me, even if it was a startled moth or butterfly.
And did not go anywhere near the shed under which the bumblebees had nested.
But I did get the front lawn done, although, in an ideal world, I would have waited until afternoon, as the grass was still a tiny damp.
I am happy to report that I had a good reason for getting it out of the way this morning. This afternoon, B and I head to Albany to help our daughter T pack her things after her wildly successful summer internship with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Natural Heritage program. She loved it and it confirmed that she had chosen the right major and career path for her master’s degree.
Now it will be back to the classroom at SUNY-Environmental Science and Forestry for her final year. We are so excited and happy for her!
Wish her luck!
Joanne Corey 
The most compelling reading story in my family is my niece Skye. She was struggling with reading and her school was not being very helpful. My sister finally took her to a specialist for evaluation and they discovered that she had a form of inherited dyslexia. My sister was perplexed, as she didn’t know of anyone in our family who was affected. When she told my parents about the diagnosis, my father recognized that Skye had the same problems that he did. At the age of 80, he discovered that the reading difficulties that he had worked around his whole life, without telling anyone about it, were caused by dyslexia! Skye’s older brother with the help of his parents started raising funds for the organization that was aiding Skye to help her access the world of books and Skye took on the project when she was older. It became known as The Paco Project. There is a video on the site telling the story of Skye and her grandfather, whom we call Paco.
As Skye was in her high school years, she became an advocate for dyslexic students in New York City, where she lives, and for other kids who were being marginalized for other reasons. As its final project, The Paco Project raised $25,000 to help NYC kids who needed help with reading. In a few weeks, Skye will start college. She will be studying Early Childhood Education, with an eye to spotting potential reading problems in pre-schoolers, so that they always have the tools they need to succeed. We are all so proud of her and my dad for what they have done to help others.